Thomas Sowell

Overall confuses the use of price mechanism with self interest. Slavery the big frame.  Says to ask where freedom came from not where slavery started.  Argues slavery so common that freedom is the rare thing.  Doesn’t say freedom the rare things living in states (recorded history).

Freedom much more common outside state. See him indeed here. Assumes state to enforce mechanism behind market.  Honest would say that some well – good collaboration with gov – can lead to freedom and prosperity.  Instead he exposed a propaganda or individual effort and reward creating freedom and if only the FoB would get out if way. We be free. Not admit that wants gov to always perform certain tasks.  And that individual only leaves multiple massive market failures.  

Local tax rate as diff between politics and economics.  Short term political benefits of raising business tax. But companies leave over time. Go where taxes less.  1/2 story.  Many best jobs require educated workers who often want to live in a nice place with good public services.  Don’t want to live it a stripped Louisiana. They want San Fran. NYC. Shouldn’t companies contribute to the environment that attracts thier workers? About how money spent. 

Prices – don’t include true costs of producing and disposing of goods. Claims recycling may not be worth it.  Time and effort worth more than value of material reused. Yet price of material artificially low and price of our time and effort artificially high.

Soviet Union – criticizing central planning as less productive than zar. Yet ignore the political realities of half the country destroyed in wwii. Rebuild. And chose to build massive war machine. That was a choice. Many things could have changed system to better. Worker control at factory. More emphasis on quality of life. But horrid political decisions, not central planning m, stymied system. Even still it was as impressive as ours from 45-75.  CIA was very worried that we were losing it Soviets on the economic front. Regans crazy cut and spend policy – which we still follow- did bail out but we’ve followed for so long as such human costs that we might be the new Tzara.

Planning not work. Failure happens but only market makes people pay for failure.  Other systems pass pain on to others. By his reasoning, we no longer have a market system.  So what is it?  Also, growth of US, England, Germany, South Korea, China all contradict him.  Central planning played huge role in growing all of them from small funeral to modern industry. Where is one that didn’t.

Internet determined by market or body of people deciding (gov). Reality is Corp are the body deciding.  Market doesn’t exist.  We have rule by reg capture. Says environment degradation worse on ussr. But that is due to people working thru gov – not the market.

Free market – where does it exist?Borders and immigration to keep wages high. Bus driver in Delhi paid way less than Stockholm.  Food exports tied to foreign policy.  Artificially low so we can dump on other countries.  Use international mechanism to open counties to us and restrict them from us. 

Labor – says market not free to hire who they want.  Child labor laws, discrimination laws.  Pretends that workers remain free when often no other option. Part of capture. Oil company gets tax breaks and subsidies- public money – cost people a lot. Offer a few jobs that people stuck in. Free labor is norm. Really?

Medical. Where is price in the system? Excuse public funding to say that we all rely on work of others.  So why do pharma companies to claim so much award?  How is price is related to invested?  Charge as much as they want.  Plus companies jacking prices up as as want.  Uses other costs when he wants.  Not consistently or even.

Safety. Says nukes are safe when compared to alternative. Doesn’t explain what we means by safe.  Compared risks of nukes to risks a book will catch on fire. No mention that people of us self insure nukes. Should undertake risks. No mention that we stopped testing critical features years ago. 
Crime blame. A few had people, ignore systemic problem. 
Medical price control adds inefficiency.  No description of our current system.  Such lying is so weak.

Safety decisions. Sell fear.  Indy weighing risks make decisions themselves. He pretends people have good information, make rationale decisions. Neither true.  Good point that safety agency have agenda and should be considered.  Yet he makes the entire incentive discussion center on this one side of the system.  Polémica para des cara. Nuclear power plants can’t get insurance the risks are so high.  The market will not insure them.  Indicator that it risky?  Yet he states it safer them others – with no evidence.  Also good example of regulatory capture – opposite gov problem that he always ignores.  Plants successfully stopped gov testing of key safety systems back in 1980s. 

Social security. Paid more for years. Not invested. Spent on other issues. Political bull shit, not demographic change.